About Me

Subscribe To

Friday, December 10, 2010

Brian Glynn

Brian was one of the few NHLers born in Germany, though he grew up in Western Canada. The gigantic defenseman spent three years in Saskatoon in the WHL where he impressed scouts with his stay-at-home defensive play and decent mobility for such a gigantic player.

Drafted 37th overall by the Calgary Flames in 1986, Glynn turned pro in 1987-88. He played well while being spotted in and out of the lineup as he apprenticed in the NHL.

Glynn took a step backwards the next two years. He spent most of his time in the minors. In 1989-90 he was named as the IHL's best defenseman as he scored 17 goals and 61 points and accumulated 164 penalty minutes!

The Flames moved Glynn to Minnesota early in the 1990-91 season in exchange for cagey veteran Frank Musil. It was a good move for Glynn, who would immediately get a chance to play. However he was never able to show what he showed in the minors, and soon fell out of favor in Minnesota.

The Edmonton Oilers picked up the journeyman partway through the 1991-92 season but lost him to Ottawa in the 1994 expansion draft. Glynn's confidence reached an all time low in Ottawa as the team struggled and Glynn was placed on the waiver wire to be demoted to the minors. However Pat Quinn took a chance on Glynn and picked him up on the waiver wire for the remainder of the 1994 season. Glynn played very well in a defensive role as the Canucks reached the Stanley Cup final!

The Canucks lost to the New York Rangers in 1994, and later that summer they lost Glynn. Due to a deep blue line, Glynn was again left exposed on the waiver wire at the beginning of the 1994-95 season. The Hartford Whalers were quick to snatch up Glynn.

Glynn played sparingly over the next two years in Hartford, and ended his North American career in the minor leagues in 1996-97. After that he headed over to Germany where they paid him big money to play, partly because he was German by birth.

Glynn was one of those guys that always left coaches and fans frustrated. He was so huge, and very mobile. He was solid defensively and made sharp, accurate breakout passes. But he lacked a mean streak. He always played his best when he was aggressive, but he was reluctant to do so.